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Running Head: FALSE ADVERTISING

False Advertising
Taylor Hunt
Appalachian State University

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Abstract
False advertising includes misleading statements or misrepresentations of a product or service
and is presented to consumers. This is an ongoing problem throughout todays society and affects
not only the companies involved but also the consumers viewing the advertisement. Although the
Federal Trade Commission has enacted laws regarding false advertising, the problem still exists.
Throughout this research paper, laws and cases will be studied in terms of false advertising.

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False Advertising
False advertising is something we have all been victims of at one point in our lives. As
humans, we are exposed to many different advertisements throughout our lives but are they
truthful? False advertisingasdefinedbyLawsreferstoamanufacturer'suseofconfusing,
misleading,orblatantlyuntruestatementswhenpromotingaproduct.Asconsumers,wemust
beawareoffalseadvertisingandprotectourselvesfrombeingvictims.Lawsareputinplaceto
helpprotectconsumersfrommisleadingstatementsbutcompaniescontinuetolie.Obviously
lawsexisttomakedeceptiveclaimsillegalbuttherearestillcasesoffalseadvertising.
LAWS
Before the Federal Trade Commission came about, consumers relied on common-law
remedies (such as civil suits for damages), voluntary industry codes, and various state laws for
assistance in responding to dishonest claims by business and industry (Tedford & Herbeck 2013).
The problem with common-law remedies was the fact that it was expensive and the system
implemented at the time showed favoritism to the companies rather than consumers. The
voluntary codes had little influence and state laws were nonexistent or very weak. Between 1900
and 1912, newspapers would publish useless medicines following the false claims about them.
Printers Ink was the trade publication of the advertising industry and projected a law making it a
misdemeanor for advertisements to contain any assertion, representation or statement of fact
which is untrue, deceptive or misleading. (Tedford & Herbeck 2013). Eventually 44 states
adopted the Printers Ink figure but it ended up failing due to lack of enforcement of the law. The
Federal Trade Commission Act was created in 1914 with the support of President Woodrow
Wilson. The Federal Trade Commission was intended to enforce antitrust laws but false
advertising came into the equation. Following the agency eight years later, the first case to reach

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the Supreme Court was FTC v. Winsted Hoisery Co. In 1922, the Court ruled in FTC v. Winsted
Hosiery Co. that the commission had acted legally to cite Winsted for dishonest advertising,
based on Winsteds practice of labeling its products woolen when, in fact, they were less than
10 percent wool (Tedford & Herbeck 2013). After the first case, 22 of 29 Federal Trade
Commission orders were upheld in the courts within a 9-year span.
According to the FederalTradeCommission,whenconsumersseeorhearan
advertisement,whetheritsontheInternet,radioortelevision,oranywhereelse,federallawsays
thatadmustbetruthful,notmisleading,and,whenappropriate,backedbyscientificevidence.
TheFederalTradeCommissionistheretoenforcelawsandappliesthelawsregardlessofthe
mediumtheadvertisementappears.AlthoughtheFederalTradeCommissionlooksoverall
misleadingclaims,theyespeciallypayattentiontothosethatcanaffectconsumershealthor
money.Forexample,claimsaboutfood,overthecounterdrugs,dietarysupplements,alcohol,
andtobaccoandonconductrelatedtohightechproductsandtheInternet(FederalTrade
Commission2015).TheFTCisresponsibleforfilingactionsinfederaldistrictcourtwhenacase
offraudisenactedonconsumers.Theseactionsareimmediateinordertostopscamsand
preventfutureonesfromhappeningaswellasfreezebusinessassetsandgaincompensationfor
victims.Inordertoenforcesuchlaws,theFederalTradeCommissionworkswithadvertisersand
manufacturestododgelegalconflict.TheFTCprovidesindustryguides,advisoryopinions,and
traderegulationrulesinordertohelpadvertisers.Industryguidesareavailabletothepublicto
studyruleswhileadvisoryopinionsarecreatedfromspecificquestionsregardingadvertising
actions.Traderegulationrulesareavailabletotheindustrybeforeproposalsbecomeeffective.In
short,theFTCwasestablishedtopreventmanufacturesandadvertisersfromcreatingfalseand
misleadingclaimsinordertoprotectconsumers.

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CASES
EarlycasesoftheFederalTradeCommissionincludedTheRapidShaveDeception,The
BallMaticGasSaverDeception,andCancerCuresDeception.In1961,theFTCissuedacease
anddesistorder(whichputsastoptofalseadvertisingimmediately)againstColgatePalmolive
Company.ThecommercialsforRapidShavewerefalseanddeceptivebecausethecompany
claimedRapidShavecouldoutshavethemallandcouldshavesandpaperoff.Littledidthe
consumersknowbutPlexiglaswasusedtoloosenthesandandittook80minutesofsoaking
beforesandwouldfalloff.Anotherceaseanddesistorderfollowedin1984againstCliffdale
Associates,Inc.,whichclaimeditsBallMaticGasSaverValvewouldcreatea20percent
savingsinfuel.TheadvertisingsaidthattheBallMaticwasanewdevice;thatallautomobiles
neededthemexceptVolkswagens,diesels,andcarswithfuelinjection;thescientifictests
supportedthegassavingclaim;andthatnumerousconsumertestimonialssupportedthe
scientifictests(Tedford & Herbeck 2013). Apparently the FTCs agency examiner found the
Ball-Matic was not needed on ever vehicle, devices like the Ball-Matic had been tried before,
scientific tests did not support the claims, and consumers testimonials were fraudulent. In 2008,
theFTCproclaimed11enforcementactionsthatinvolvedmisleadingadvertisingofcancer
cures.Thesesocalledcuresincludedanarrayofteasandherbalblendsbuttherewasno
scientificevidencetheseproductscanpreventorcurecancer.Sixactionswereresolvedby
settlementswhiletheotherfivewereissuedaceaseanddesistorder.
AlthoughtheFTCcasesabovewereextremelysignificant,therehavebeennumerouscases
thathavehitclosetohomewithproductspeopleuseeveryday.Recently,Kelloggsreceiveda
classactionlawsuitagainsttheirKashiproductsandcannolongerpromoteproductsthatsay
AllNaturalorNothingArtificial.ItseemsthatKelloggshasbeenhitprettyhardwithpast

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lawsuits.In2011,thecompanypaid$5milliontosettleaclassactionlawsuitoverclaimsthat
RiceKrispiescerealcouldboosttheimmunesystemsofchildren(Cummings2014).TheNaked
Juicethatseemedtobeapopularhealthtransitionclaimingtheirjuicestobe100percentfruit
andallnaturalliedtoitsconsumers.Pepsiownsthejuicecompany(whichshouldsay
somethingtobeginwith)andhadbeenputtingascorbicacidandsyntheticsourcesoffiberinthe
drinks,whichinreturnisnotallnaturalwhatsoever.Anotherrecentclaimthathasstirredup
severalissuesiselectroniccigarettes.Theelectroniccigaretteshaveclaimedtobeasafer
alternativetotraditionalcigarettes,forthosetryingtostoporjustlikethetasteofit.Aclass
actionsuitagainstNJOYecigarettestakesissuewiththefactthattheecigmakertoutsits
productasawaytohelppeoplequitsmokingregularcigaretteswhilecontainingmanyofthe
sametoxiccompoundsintraditionalsmokes(Cummings2014).InapressreleaselastApril,
severalU.S.SenatorswrotetotheFTCandFDAadvisingtheagenciestotakeproper
enforcementagainstelectroniccigarettecompaniesmakingfalseclaimsabouttheirproducts
helpingsmokersquit.Theelectroniccigaretteshavenotbeenapprovedtobesafeandaffective
rathertheycontainmostofthetoxiccompoundsfoundintraditionalcigarettes.Intodaysletters,
theSenatorshighlightedrecentstudiesdemonstratingthatclaimsbyecigarettemanufacturers
thattheirproductshelppeoplequitsmokingarenotsubstantiatedbycurrentscience(Boxer
2014).
Whenfalseadvertisingriskspeopleshealththereisamajorconcern,justastheecigarettes
orthenaturalteas/herbsthathelpcurecancer.Notonlyishealthamajorconcernbutalso
consumersmoneyissomethingtotakeintoaccount.Regardlessofwhatisbeingputatrisk,
falseadvertisingisnotacceptableandshouldbeputtoastop.Overall,theFTCisenforcinglaws

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andfilinglawsuitssothatmaybecompanieswilllearnfromtheirmistakes.Itwouldbealot
easierifpeopletoldthetruthinthebeginningbutwhenmoneyisinvolvedpeopletendtodo
thingsdifferently.

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References
BARBARABOXER.(2014,April7).RetrievedOctober14,2015,from
https://www.boxer.senate.gov/press/release/senatorscallonftcandfdatoprotect
consumersfromfalseadvertisingclaimsbyecigarettemakers/
Consumer.(2015).RetrievedOctober14,2015,fromhttp://consumer.laws.com/deceptive
advertising/deceptiveadvertisingdefinition
Cummings,T.(2014,May28).10CompaniesCaughtMakingFalseClaims.RetrievedOctober
14,2015,fromhttp://dealnews.com/features/Gotcha10CompaniesCaughtMaking
FalseClaims/453070.html
Sullivan,A.(2008,September23).TruthinAdvertising?NotforPoliticalAds.Retrieved
October14,2015,from
http://content.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1843796,00.html
Tedford,T.L.,&Herbeck,D.A.(2013).FreedomofSpeechintheUnitedStates(7thEdition
ed.).StateCollege,PA:StrataPublishing,Inc.
TruthInAdvertising.(2015).RetrievedOctober14,2015,fromhttps://www.ftc.gov/news
events/mediaresources/truthadvertising